Art Buzz: Hear 35,000 heartbeats, see painted people & a look back at 1980's pomo

Heartbeat Island: French artist, Christian Boltankski, has recorded the heartbeats of over 35,000 people and stored them on a tiny Japanese island for his project, “Les Archives du Coeur.” His touring booth is slated to come through Finland in 2012, so you romantic types should probably start booking tickets for Valentine’s Day.

’80s Babies: Reagan, Prince and the AIDS crisis provided ample inspiration for some powerful postmodern artworks in the mid-1980s, some of which are now on view in a new exhibit at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art. Entitled “Circa 1986,” the show includes iconic and lesser-known works from the likes of Jeff Koons, Richard Prince and Rona Pondick.

Letting it All Hang Out: Major props to The Guggenheim for executing by far the cheekiest art retrospective I’ve ever seen. Timed with Maurizio Cattelan’s impending retirement, the museum has suspended 128 of his works willy-nilly from the ceiling. Aptly-named “All,” the show includes all but two of Cattelan’s pieces, which were withheld by private owners (what stinkers).

Joseph Szabo Project: In the mid ’70s, photographer Joseph Szabo documented his students in all their hairy, hormonal glory in thousands upon thousands of black and white images. Almost thirty years later, director David Khachatorian has sifted through Szabo’s archives to create a documentary about his life and work.

Paint-on-People: At first glance, Boo Ritson’s images look like creepy, paint-covered puppets or paper-macheted faces. As it turns out, there are real people beneath the sticky globs of paint, and you will explode your brain trying not to see mannequins. Check out her latest exhibit, “All Aboard,” at the Bravin Lee Gallery